Research firm Strategy Analytics has announced its smartphone market share numbers for Q3 2012. The numbers show that Samsung Galaxy S III overtook the Apple iPhone 4S to become the world's best selling smartphone for Q3.

Samsung shipped 18 million Galaxy S III smartphones during Q3 of 2012. The quantity of units shipped gave Samsung's smart phone 11% of the smartphone market globally. Strategy Analytics attributes the Galaxy S III's large touchscreen and extensive distribution around the world along with generous operator subsidies as the main reasons for the smartphones success.

Apple shipped 16.2 million iPhone 4S smartphones, giving it second place in the global smartphone market. Much of the reason that the iPhone slipped from the top spot was because consumers were holding off to purchase the anticipated iPhone 5 at the end of Q3. Apple shipped 6 million units of the iPhone 5 in Q3 of 2012 with very little time on market.

The total number of smartphones shipped in Q3 of 2012 added up to 167.8 million.

The Samsung Galaxy S III grew its market share significantly between Q2 of 2012 and Q3 growing from 3.5% to 10.7% of the global market. Comparatively, the iPhone 4S slipped from 12.7% of the market in Q2 of 2012 to 9.7%. The brand-new iPhone 5 grabbed 3.6% of the market.

However, the research firm expects the win for Samsung to be very short-lived. Strategy Analytics says that it expects the iPhone 5 to out ship the Galaxy S III in Q4 2012 allowing the iPhone to regain the title as the world's most popular smartphone.

you need to get your head checked, so delusional! no, sorry it doesn't work that way. you may wish that in your fantasy world of apple. let me guess you probably pride yourself because you're carrying the iphone 5 with the biggest GBs. unfortunately you count all iphone's in use against all other forms of cellphones. Android globally has you beat 5 to 1.

NEWS Flash, apple only appears to be a premium phone by its outer shell, using metal and glass as a thin outer layer doesn't make it a premium headset. Let's dig down into the apple product. Retina display, samsung produced and distributed within China to be constructed. All the Chipset from gpu/ cpu to other components like mics and speakers dirty cheap chinese parts put together by child labor and slaves of the system that work on a dime a day and locked under key, safety nets outside the window incase they commit suicide under the pressure. A good fraction of that Iphone is labelled as Samsung components. so apple hands Samsung directly Billions of dollars to product apple success in the western society. So Samsung paid back a few years of profit it made off apple. Iphone 5 users are bias, and self loathing; it's sick. there must be a cure. snow white got a chance. old times though in monarchy, a new age prince came to save your poisoned minds named android.

The Note 2 is a tad more expensive than the iphone 5 but it makes applesauce in its innovation and power. Stop being dumb with which apps opens the fastest test, its lame as hell. Suing in court was LAME too, "you copied our iphone which has a square base with round corners. Apple won to a crowd of jury no technical or education of patent laws. One of jurors withheld his involvement for investments in apple. the whole case was hilarious, it's like making the same argument that car manufacturers can't product 4 wheels and a steering wheel. then sue for billions for all the loses of sales. Let's admit apple hasn't been innovative in years, well since the first iphone, just cheap upgrade!

google is years ahead with amazing ideas for the future. If Andriod didn't come to the scene, Apple products would still be at a creeping slow pace one phone every 2 years, just a platform for music, phone calls and ios exclusive apps.

Android OS wasn't even distributed for another year and a half after iphone debut, yet the pace of the operating system and hardware has blown the seeds out of that apple to try and keep up with technology, or apple's latest scheme to hold back android with red tape and lawsuits. except Samsung isn't stopping, blow after blow chipping away Apple's share. there's an endless product line to be unveiled by samsung in the next year that are designed to lure apple fans away. Samsung is designing phones people want; rather than be told by the producer what they're going to get in the next installment. that's why you're an isheep! Apple has pushed you face first towards the edge of a cliff, with your back legs hook to them, while you get railed from behind so ever gently. Even Nokia and HTC teamed up with microsoft to take a chunk out of apples share.